A newsagent has described the moment she and her colleague tackled an armed robber after he attempted an early morning raid on her shop.
Owner Bose Dasaolu was in the office of Steve McDonald News, on Witard Road, Norwich, when at around 4am on Sunday a masked man entered demanding money, holding what appeared to be a hammer.
Mrs Dasaolu pushed past the man to escape and called out to her colleague Drego, who was outside at the time.
The 59-year-old said: "The man came in a mask and said 'where is your money?' He kept saying "where is your money?". We started pushing each other.
"I had money in the office and he did not look at that, he wanted the big money.
"If I panicked it would be worse. It was me and him inside this small office."
Mrs Dasaolu, who has run the shop with her husband Akintola for 13 years, would usually lock the door but had not due to another member of staff being on the premises at the same time.
She said: "We pushed each other out of the office. I managed to escape and called my colleague. That's when they started to fight, I said to my colleague: 'He has a hammer.' He saw the hammer as well."
She said her colleague wrestled with the man and to get the raider off him she hit him on the head with a piece of wood.
They left via the shop's back door to call police.
The raider attempted to leave by the front door which was on a latch and as a result caused damage to the ceiling and lights as he tried to force the door open.
Police arrived and made an arrest.
Despite the incident and the shop being closed due to investigation work, Mrs Dasaolu picked up the day's papers and sold them from outside the shop.
Mrs Dasaolu's son Jeremiah said: "When I was told I didn't believe it. I came down to the shop to clear up everything. The ceiling had collapsed and was all over the ground.
"All of the stock, all of the cards was everywhere. Some of the lights had collapsed. Mum stayed and sold papers from outside."
A Norfolk Police spokesman confirmed officers were called to a newsagents’ shop in Witard Road shortly after 4am on Sunday after reports a man had entered the shop armed with what was described as a hammer and made demands.
The spokesman said Craig Hicks, 39, of Silfield Street, Silfield, has been charged with criminal damage and aggravated burglary following the incident.
He appeared before Norwich magistrates on Monday via video link and his case was sent to the city's crown court on February 8.
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